How Much Did Nate Bargatze Actually Donate at the 2025 Emmys? Inside the Host’s Surprising Speech Rule

Nate Bargatze put his own spin on encouraging actors to shorten their speeches at the 2025 Emmy Awards.

At the top of the show on Sept. 14, the host announced that he was prepared to donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club. However, he said he would deduct $1,000 for every second that a winner went over the 45-second allotted time and add $1,000 for every second a winner went under.

“It’s brutal. What are you gonna do though?” he said during the ceremony. “I can’t change it. This is a game I made up and these are the rules.”

As the show went on, the stand-up comedian reminded the audience members about the tally and plastered the number on a big screen. Bargatze even brought children, who were beneficiaries of the charity, as audience members.

Although many of the stars tried their best, the tally at the end of the night was in the negative thousands. However, Bargatze didn’t let the charity suffer, as he and CBS partnered up to donate a total of $350,000.

Here’s everything to know about how much Nate Bargatze actually gave to the Boys & Girls Club.

What was Nate Bargatze’s charity initiative at the Emmys?

After opening the Emmys, Bargatze shared that he would be doing things a little differently as the host. In the past, many of the winners have gone over the time allowed for their speeches and sent the show into the late night, so he proposed a new plan.

Bargatze said that he’d be starting off the show with a $100,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club, but he would deduct or add $1,000 to the fund depending on someone’s speech exceeding or going under the 45-second limit.

Bargatze frequently reminded attendees about the mission with a running tally on a screen. Several of the winners also acknowledged the mission and apologized to the charity if they ran over. The camera also panned to some of the children representing the organization sitting in the audience as a reminder.

Prior to hosting the show, Bargatze spoke about his initiative and explained that he decided to do it in hopes that the show didn’t go late into the night.

“It’s a show, you gotta get moving,” Bargatze told CNN ahead of the show. “It is very serious. The amount of money I give to the Boys and Girls Club is totally up to all of Hollywood.”

Who lost and gained money for the organization at the Emmys?

As the Emmys aired, Bargatze and his charity clock kept both the winners and the viewers in the loop with how much money he had raised (or not) for the Boys & Girls Club after many people’s speeches.

Seth Rogen and the team behind his comedy show, The Studio, initially won money for the charity with their short speeches for his Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and for Writing for A Comedy Series. However, the team lost a whopping $60,000 when they went well past the 45-second mark with their win for Outstanding Comedy Series.

“We’re already in debt,” Rogen said while handing over the microphone to his fellow show creators. “We f—– over the Boys & Girls Club.”

Meanwhile, Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder also acknowledged the charity when she exceeded the speech time for winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. After running through most of her speech, she assured viewers that she would “pay the difference” that her speech deducted.

Stephen Colbert received a standing ovation when he and his team won the award for Outstanding Talk Series for his late-night show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which will end in May 2026. Colbert shared an emotional speech that lasted for over two minutes, but the program didn’t show how the speech affected the fund.

In addition, the hit Netflix limited series Adolescence also caused a dip in the pot, as their speech for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series decreased it by $36,000. Bargatze joked at the time, “That was a show called Adolescence that did that to adolescents.”

How much did Nate Bargatze actually end up donating to the Boys & Girls Club?

At the end of the night, Bargatze revealed that the charity fund had gone into the red and was in the negative tens of thousands of dollars.

“The number, I’ll be honest with you, it was embarrassing. It went way down,” Bargatze said at the end of the show. “I can’t imagine ever doing this again.”

Of course, Bargatze didn’t let the Boys & Girls Club go home empty-handed, so he increased his original donation to $250,000. In addition, CBS also added $100,000, making the total donation to the Boys & Girls Club $350,000. The organization later thanked the Emmys and Bargatze for their donation and for including them in the show.

“Saying thank you in 45 seconds or less just won’t do,” the charity wrote on X after the show. “From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, @natebargatze, for including the Club Kids in such an unforgettable night. Your generosity and jokes made it magic; and we’re beyond grateful to be part of it.”